captioning funded by cbs four more years. >> thank you. thank you. >> president obama wins a second term in the white house after scoring election night victories in the key battleground states of ohio, virginia, iowa, and colorado. >> whether i earned your vote or not, i have listened to you. i have learned from you. and you've made me a better president. >> mitt romney conceding defeat after a bitter and costly campaign. >> ann and i join with you earnestly to pray for him and the nation. >> but little changes in congress, with democrats maintaining control of the senate, while the gop holds sway over the house. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, november 7th, 2012.

good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. barack obama has been reelected president of the united states. mr. obama won a second term in office defeating mitt romney following an often nasty and costly election. democrats have retained control of the senate, republicans continue to control the house. president obama won a decisive victory over mitt romney racking up wins in at least 7 of 9 battleground states. the president won in wisconsin and iowa's six electoral votes, a state that launched his first campaign and the key western state of nevada. but it was ohio that pushed the president over the 270 electoral votes needed to win. it was a commanding win for the president in the electoral college, but the popular vote was neck and neck. in his victory speech, mr. obama promised better days ahead. >> while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long,

we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the united states of america, the best is yet to come. >> the president watched the returns in his hometown of chicago. bigad shaban is there. >> reporter: the president took the stage here in his hometown of chicago at about half past midnight and he told a crowd of cheering supporters we may have battled fiercely, but it's because we love this country deeply. the president's family joined him on stage to celebrate four more years in the white house. >> you voted for action. not politics as usual. you elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. >> reporter: the president won almost all of the battleground states, giving him a decisive electoral victory. >> whether i earned your vote or

not, i have listened to you. i have learned from you. and you've made me a better president. >> reporter: governor romney congratulated the president. the republican challenger says he gave everything he had to this campaign. >> i so wish that i had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader. so ann and i join with you to earnestly pray for him and this great nation. >> reporter: the two candidates who clashed on so many issues found common ground. >> at a time like this, we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work. >> i'm looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. >> reporter: and he believes the country can come together. >> despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the frustrations of washington,

i've never been more hopeful about our future. >> reporter: president obama returns to the white house this afternoon. moving forward, the president says he'll work across party lines to focus on a number of issues including the economy, tax reform, and immigration policy. >> the next big thing. bigad shaban in chicago. thank you so much. meanwhile exit polls found a divide among race and generations. the president's share of white voters shrunk from 2008. with more, here is anthony mason. >> here are three key groups that helped put the president over the top. the first was women. he won women 55% to 43%. that's about the same margin he won them by in 2008. he also won hispanics 69% to 29%. that's an improvement over how he did four years ago and they're a larger part of the

electorate now. they were 10% this time around. four years ago, they were just 9%. finally he won young voters 50% to 36%. not as good as he did four years ago, but still an overwhelming victory among young voters. and when they left the polls, voters told us a majority 54% said they actually approve of the job the president is doing. so his approval rating held up there. and finally what's interesting is the number one issue in this campaign was the economy. and the president with a 7.9% unemployment rate was supposed to be extremely vulnerable. but when asked who would did a better job on the economy, president obama lost by only a single point, 49% to 48%. so effectively on the number one issue, his most vulnerable spot and the key issue that mitt romney campaigned on basically president obama neutralized that issue and fought mitt romney to a draw. >> anthony mason in new york. john dick erson has more on how

the obama campaign won the election. >> president obama won re-election as 44th president of the united states by defeating governor mitt romney across a whole host of battleground states. this election had been tight in the polls right up until the election day, but in the end, president obama won more than the 270 electoral votes necessary for re-election. he did it through a combination of things by defining governor romney as a symbol of all that has gone wrong with the economy in the key state of ohio after so much discussion about ohio, it was the one that put president obama over the top. but he also had a positive message to sell in that state. the auto bailout that he put in place in 2009 is a hit with voters and his ability to sell that economic plan through difficult economic times was a success for him in that state. in other states, the president put together a coalition similar to but smaller than the one that

had brought him to victory in 2008. his share of white voters actually shrunk from the previous election, but he did very well among african-american and hispanic voters. he also did well with younger voters, though they did not turn out in the numbers they had in 2008. president obama now goes back to washington where republicans have also won control of the house. the question is what will his agenda be for the next term. one thing that has been assured by this victory is that his agenda from the first term has been protected. john dickerson, cbs news, new york. and we will take a quick break. coming up, the key races in congress as the democrats keep control of the senate and republicans retain control of the house. this is the "cbs morning news."

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all for just 6 bucks at chili's. in his second term like its first, president obama will have to deal with a divided congress. democrats were able to retain narrow control in the senate,

and republicans maintain control of congress. john boehner said americans are looking for political leaders to find common ground. tara mergener has more. >> reporter: at $82 million, it was the most expensive congressional race and a must win for democrats trying to keep control of the senate. cbs news projects tim kaine wins the virginia senate race. >> our victory tonight proves that it's the number of people who stand with you, not the number of zeros behind the check. >> reporter: cbs news projects former obama administration official elizabeth warren defeated scott brown. more than $72 million were spent on the race for the massachusetts senate seat. the democrats picked up a seat with the win. >> this victory belongs to you. >> reporter: cbs news projects democrats will retain a majority

in the senate and the house will stay in republican control. so capitol hill could be on track for more gridlock. in wisconsin, democrat tammy baldwin became the first openly gay person to win a u.s. senate seat by defeating tommy thompson. republicans were supposed to gain a senate seat in missouri. cbs news projects claire mccaskill will keep her seat. >> you'll have a voice in the united states senate that makes you proud. >> reporter: comments about rape sank the candidacy of todd akin. tara mergener, for cbs news, washington. >> and here is a look at some of the other senate race winners. the gop picked up a seat in nebraska. fischer will fill the seat vacated by ben nelson. and in arizona, republicans will keep the seat held by jon kyl. jeff flake beat richard carmona.

in maine, angus king won the seat being vacated by olympia snowe. for more analysis on the state of the congress, here's senior political reporter. >> reporter: president obama will not have long to celebrate his election night victory. congress will soon be coming back to debate the fiscal cliff. this is the combination of spending cuts and tax hikes that economists say could plunge the united states into recession if it takes effect at the end of the year. now, house speaker john boehner says they are looking to kick the can down the road. he doesn't want to deal with a lame duck congress, but that's our next big fight. there will also be a big fight

in the republican party. republicans will look at what happened in this election and try to figure out what's next. some will say we've nominated two straight relative moderates. john mccain and mitt romney. and we've lost both times. the lesson they will take from that is it's time to move to the right. it's time to have a true believer as the party standard bearer in 2016. other republicans will say, you know he what, we're getting crushed among latinos and minority voters. it's time for a new direction for the party. this is a message you hear from marco rubio, something you hear from jeb bush, and this is the real fight that will be going on in the republican party. stay tuned, it will be an exciting time for the party and for politics in general. cbs news, new york city. up next, your wednesday morning weather and victims of hurricane sandy get out and vote. many traveling far and wide just to cast their ballots. nd wide just to cast their ballots. day at t, went home and fed her family. now she's helping her community.

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here's a look at the weather. new york, rain and snow. miami, sunny and 79. chicago, 48. dallas, sunny and 76. clouds and sunny in l.a., 76. a nor'easter is forecast to hit the northeast. expect strong winds, beach erosion, shore line flooding and a storm surge of up to four feet. up to three inches of rain is possible for parts of new england. snow could drop from delaware to

maine. the rest of the country is expected to be dry, but there could be rain and mountain snow showers from tennessee to georgia and heavy snow and blizzard conditions are expected in the northern rockies. hurricane sandy made voting very difficult for millions of voters especially in new york and new jersey. polling stations were relocated and even voters without power managed to cast their ballots. >> reporter: bill left home on his bicycle in search of a place to vote. >> just circling around and figuring out where the biggest spots were where people could be. >> reporter: these tents marked the spot where residents of the devastated rockaways are casting their ballots. >> i didn't think i'd get an opportunity to vote. i thought they were going to pass up the voting for the whole entire area.

>> reporter: as night has fallen, there are additional challenges. for one the lighting isn't good in some parts of the tent, so some voters are complaining they can't see the ballots. and it's freezing. but that's not keeping people from lining up to cast their vote. without power, poll workers struggled to spread the word about their makeshift location. but voters streamed in steadily all day. >> we don't want sandy to take away anything more than she already has. >> reporter: the system held up despite moments of confusion. new york's governor said voters could cast ballots at any polling place they could reach, but still some were turned away. >> they sent me away. every little vote counts. and i was trying to cast mine. >> reporter: thousands of new york residents have lost their homes. many more are living without heat or hot water. but election officials report heavy turnout, voters say the disaster has made them more determined than ever to cast their vote. when we come back, a recap of last night's election results, plus marijuana on the ballot. for the first time ever, two states legalize recreational use. states legalize rec

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how did you know? i had a little help. this is how to gift. this is sears. despite all of the frustrats of washington. i've never bn more hopeful about our futu" there were cheers in chicagd tears in boston. like so many of you butt wih we have given our all to ths campaign. but the president crossed te electoral college thresholdn he picked up the state of o. and here in california.. the governor sticks his neck ou, begging voters to raise tax,

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in d.c., a snowy mix. in st. louis, sunny and 50. denver, sunny and 73. and seattle, showers and 51. here is your election night recap. barack obama has won a second term as president of the united states. the president defeated mitt romney in at least seven of nine key battleground states to rack up a decisive win in the electoral college, but the popular vote was very close. the president will still have to deal with a divided congress. democrats retained a slim margin in the senate while republicans retained their control of the house. john boehner will remain speaker of the house.

big wins for same-sex marriage. maine and maryland approved gay and lesbian marriage by popular vote. and it's also on the ballot in washington state, but right now that is too close to call. in minnesota, a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and woman has been rejected. the state already has a law banning same-sex marriage. gay marriage is already legal in six states and washington, d.c., but those laws were either enacted by lawmakers or through court rulings. more history in washington state and colorado. voters there chose to legalize recreational marijuana. it was rejected in oregon. pot taxes could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars each year, but lighting up is still against federal law. in massachusetts, voters approved using medical marijuana, a similar measure in arkansas. and in california, proposition 30 is still too close to call. governor brown says the bill is the only hope to prevent more cuts to public schools.

if it passes, prop 30 would raise the state sales tax and increase income taxes for people who make at least $250,000. and also another high profile measure requiring labels on modified foods appears to be failing. proposition says consumers have a right to know, but opponents say the labels would stigmatize foods that are scientifically proven to be safe. coming up after your local news on cbs this morning, complete coverage and analysis including interviews with key players from both parties. i don't know if it's just me, but i think we're all happy this thing is just over. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." thing is gist over. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." [ mom ] 3 days into school break and they're already bored.

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voters across florida were in line to cast a ballot way past the official closing of 8:00 p.m. in some places voting dragged on into the night. a high turnout and unusually long ballot contributed to the long lines. if you're thinking the process should just be easier, those voting problems may soon be a thing of the past thanks to advances in technology. the internet of course will inevitably play a big role. how we may vote in the future. >> reporter: in this era of mobile devices and cloud computing, voting is a rare holdout which unlike banking and shopping hasn't migrated to the internet. some say it's only a matter of time before all americans cast ballots online. >> we're seeing it in other parts of the world and states are starting to experiment with

voting online. the technology is getting better. >> reporter: besides the potential benefits including increased efficiency, greater ballot counting accuracy and higher voting turnout, voting technology could improve civic engagements. but online voting must first overcome valid concerns. how do you prevent hacking and fraud. >> if someone takes money out of your bank, the bank will put it back in. but if an election is hacked, we don't really have a way to undo it. >> reporter: while we may not be voting online anytime soon, there are ways technology is changing the voting experience. my fairelection.com lets you report on conditions at your polling location like irregularities or broken machines. at turbovote.com, you can register to vote and receive reminders via text or e-mail on election day. it will take more than sophisticated security stocks

wearing clever apps to change the voting process, but greater voting engagement is a big win no matter what your political leanings. in san francisco, cnet.com for cbs news. as americans were busy voting tuesday, construction got under way on capitol hill for the inauguration platform. of course president obama will take the oath of office right there on january 21st. transit officials estimated up to 800,000 people will show up for that ceremony. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," a full wrap of election results and analysis, plus reaction from bob woodward. also we'll hear from virginia governor bob mcdonnell and we'll speak with elizabeth warren about her victory in the massachusetts senate race. all of that and more a little later on "cbs this morning." i have to be perfectly honest, i did not think we would know who the president of the united states would be at this hour. we have made it and not as chaotic as i thought it would be.

that is the morning news thankfully. appreciate you watching. i'm terrell brown in new york. appreciate you watching. i'm terrell brown in new york. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald (cheers) while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up. we have fought our way back. >> yeah! >> and we know in our hearts that for the united states of america, the best is yet to come. [ applause and cheers ]